“As long as I am here, you will never become Pei Liuyu’s wife…”
The moment Nan Liujing saw Pei Songjun, she knew what those pearls and colored glass were for.
There was no escaping disaster; fleeing was futile. She could only step inside.
The door behind her was closed from the outside. Pei Songjun spoke, “Sit.”
Nan Liujing remained standing, offering a seemingly respectful bow. “I wondered who could be so extravagantly generous. So it was you, Young Master Pei.”
“Surprised?”
“Terrified.”
Nan Liujing spoke softly, “Such a heavy gift is beyond my worth.”
“A mere few thousand coins—what are they compared to the effort Liuyu has spent on you?”
His clear, gentle voice carried a faint, elusive smile. “Moreover, when a gift is given, there must be a request. You are a clever person; you should understand.”
“…”
“As long as I am here, you will never become Pei Liuyu’s wife.”
The smile on Pei Songjun’s face remained gentle, but his words were simple, direct, and left no room for negotiation.
Perhaps she had long anticipated Pei Songjun’s intentions, for Nan Liujing felt no turmoil in her heart.
She lowered her gaze, staring at the curling steam rising from the tea beyond her veil, and simply asked, “Why? Why can’t it be me?”
“The question should be reversed.”
Pei Songjun stood up, walked around from behind the long table, and strolled over to her. “Why should it be you? Liuyu deceived everyone to persuade the elders to agree to this marriage. But you have far too many flaws—your illness, your background… If even one of these were exposed, there would be no need for me to see you today.”
The fragrance of tea was overpowered by the pine scent emanating from the young man, seeping through the gaps in her veil and enveloping Nan Liujing, causing her face to pale slightly.
The next moment, the familiar jade-handled horsetail whisk abruptly slipped beneath her veil, flipped over, and lifted the white gauze before her face.
Nan Liujing’s pupils trembled as she looked up in shock.
The bright daylight fell upon her pale face. In the interplay of light and shadow, the contours of her delicate bone structure emerged—stunningly beautiful yet fragile and lifeless.
Pei Songjun pursed his lips, the feigned warmth in his smile fading slightly.
“Even your identity as a daughter of the Nan family is false, and you still ask me why?”
“Liu… Yao.”
When she heard these two words, Nan Liujing felt as if the guillotine hanging over her head had finally fallen with a sharp “snap.”
He still remembered…
He actually still remembered?!
Being recognized by Pei Songjun was the worst possible outcome.
But it was also utterly absurd.
She and he had only met once. Even if that encounter had been earth-shattering, could it really have left such a lasting impression on him all these years?
Even remembering her name…
Just how petty and vindictive was this Third Young Master Pei?!
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about…”
Admitting it was absolutely out of the question.
Nan Liujing looked bewildered, her eyes vacant. “I suffered a severe injury and forgot many things… When I woke up, everyone said I was the fifth daughter of the Nan family. Are you suggesting, Young Master Pei, that they couldn’t recognize their own daughter, or that they conspired to deceive me?”
Pei Songjun’s horsetail whisk moved forward, lifting Nan Liujing’s chin as if to examine her face more closely.
Nan Liujing tilted her head back, her slender jade-like neck tensed, the veins beneath her skin faintly visible.
“I believe there is a third possibility.”
She slowly retreated until she was far from the horsetail whisk, the white veil of the curtain falling and closing once more, separating the two of them, before she spoke lightly, “Master Pei, you truly have mistaken me for someone else.”
The private room fell silent.
Pei Songjun remained quiet for a long time. Through the veil and the steam of the tea, Nan Liujing could not clearly see his expression.
But it was likely he did not believe her nonsense.
“Among the countless young men of noble families in the capital, why must it be Pei Liuyu?”
After an unknown length of time, she finally heard Pei Songjun’s voice again.
Nan Liujing thought for a moment and replied earnestly, “Seventh Master and I are truly of one heart and mind.”
“What you desire is not him as a person.”
Pei Songjun seemed unwilling to say more to her. He walked past her and headed out of the private room.
“If you cut off all ties with Liuyu, you can continue to be Nan Liujing, and everything in Zhaoyun Courtyard will remain unchanged. But if you insist on this marriage…”
“Greed is a deep chasm; contentment is the boat that crosses it.”
When she left Shuxue Cottage, the sky had already darkened.
Nan Liujing boarded the carriage without a word. Nurse Fu had already heard what had happened inside and was about to ask who had given the gift, but Nan Liujing closed her eyes, saying only that she was tired and sleepy and wished to rest.
The carriage slowly began to move. Nan Liujing leaned against the carriage wall and indeed drifted into a drowsy sleep.
Thanks to Pei Songjun’s mention of “Liu Tao,” she dreamed once more of that feast at Hongmen, dreaming of herself standing in the shadows behind him, dressed in servant’s attire…
“It is widely known that the third son of the Pei family possesses keen judgment and clear insight from a young age. With such a family tradition, it is no wonder he holds himself in such high regard, looking down upon us ordinary folk.”
After three rounds of wine, amidst the unrestrained revelry, the young and virtuous Third Master Pei became an anomaly, an eyesore to others.
The head of the Xi family, the current State Preceptor seated in the host’s position, suddenly clapped twice, halting the music and dance. “Someone, bring a different wine for Third Master Pei.”
As soon as the words fell, a beautiful maidservant approached, presenting a wine cup.
“This Xuhou Wine is a treasure of mine, rarely brought out. But who could refuse the Pei family, renowned throughout the land, with Master Pei as our honored guest?”
At the mention of “Xuhou Wine,” the entire hall was shocked.
Nan Liujing had never heard of Xuhou Wine, nor did she even know which characters it was written with, but she overheard whispers from the neighboring table.
“In the past, Marquis Xu held the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords. Those who defied him were executed on the spot, their blood mixed into the wine…”
“Thus, Xuhou Wine earned its name.”
The next moment, the State Preceptor personally poured a cup of wine and offered it to Pei Songjun.
Nan Liujing immediately saw the streaks of blood floating in the wine. At the same time, a pungent, fishy aroma of alcohol rushed over, overwhelming the pleasant scent of pine and turning it into something nauseating.
Her eyelashes trembled, and she retreated two steps in fear and trepidation.
She could retreat, but Pei Songjun could not.
“This humble one does not enjoy drinking wine. May I substitute it with tea?”
“Oh? Does Master Pei not enjoy drinking wine, or is he unwilling to grant me, to grant the Xi family, a small courtesy?”
The State Preceptor, dressed in deep purple Daoist robes, smiled with hidden daggers, his tone quite forceful. “This Xuhou Wine may be difficult to get used to at first taste, but after a few cups, it reveals a unique flavor and is beneficial to the body. Master Pei, please.”
Nan Liujing could not see Pei Songjun’s expression, only his unmoving back and, in the stalemate, the increasingly inscrutable face of the State Preceptor.
Clouds obscured the moon, and sudden change erupted.
The Grand Master suddenly drew a sword from a guard’s waist and raised it to stab toward the maid presenting the wine.
“Pfft!”
The sound of the blade piercing flesh echoed through the air.
Nan Liujing trembled all over, watching helplessly as the maid was impaled by the long sword and fell lifeless to the ground.
The blood clinging to the sword dripped into the Xuhou Wine, its metallic scent finally overpowering the aroma of the liquor.
“If Master Pei refuses to drink, then the wine must not be good enough. Now, with the added flavor of a beauty’s blood, is it sufficient?”
As he spoke, the Grand Master pulled forward two more serving maids, their faces pale and trembling with fear.
Nan Liujing stood frozen in a daze, only to be roughly dragged out as well and pushed before Pei Songjun.
“All of you are serving maids. If a guest refuses to drink, it is your failure. Today, your lives shall be used to accompany Master Pei’s wine, until he is willing to drink…”
The two maids beside her immediately knelt and began to weep and plead. Nan Liujing’s legs also gave way, and she fell to her knees with a thud alongside them.
She too wanted to beg for mercy, but when she lifted her head and saw the expression on Pei Songjun’s face, her throat seemed to tighten as if gripped by an invisible hand—
That handsome face still wore a smile, but his eyes were cold and indifferent, as if the warmth and gentleness she had seen before were nothing but her own delusion.
“The Grand Master killing his own household slaves—what does that have to do with me?”
The kind-hearted Third Master Pei moved his lips and uttered two cruel words, “As you wish.”
“…”
Those two words sealed the fate of the maids.
With two swift strokes of his sword, the Grand Master slit the throats of the two before him and tossed their bodies beside Nan Liujing.
Crimson blood, still warm with life, flowed beneath them, staining her skirt red and scalding her skin until she trembled uncontrollably.
When the blood-dripping sword was pressed against her neck, Nan Liujing’s tear-filled eyes remained fixed unwaveringly on Pei Songjun.
Why…
A cup of Blood-Wine, it was just a cup of Blood-Wine…
If he had only drunk it, they wouldn’t have died, they wouldn’t have had to die…
She stared at him intently, at him whose smile had not wavered in the slightest.
So she had been mistaken…
This Third Master Pei was no kind-hearted man at all, but a jade-faced judge of the underworld.
As the sword descended, a surge of strength suddenly erupted within her. Breaking free from her restraints like a cornered young beast, she lunged recklessly toward Pei Songjun.
With a heavy thud, the two crashed onto the long table, sending cups, plates, and wine vessels scattering in all directions.
Dizzy and disoriented, Nan Liujing seized the moment before the man beneath her could react. With one hand gripping his jaw and the other snatching a wine cup from the table, she poured the genuine Xuhou Wine down his throat—
The pearls and hairpins in her hair scattered, her disheveled locks mingling with the crimson wine as it cascaded down, drenching the youngest head of the Pei family beneath her.
“Get off! Cough, cough, cough!”
When the wine vessel was emptied, Nan Liujing was violently shoved aside, collapsing onto the floor.
As the haze of blood before her eyes cleared, she found herself face-to-face with a disheveled Pei Songjun, who seemed to be coughing up his very insides.
“How dare you!”
Behind her, the Grand Master’s voice, filled with a perverse delight, rang out in accusation. “Master Pei is my honored guest. Who allowed a lowly maid like you to commit such an offense?!”
Offense or not, death awaited her either way…
She would rather take her chances…
Nan Liujing wiped the splattered Blood-Wine from her face, her expression cold and detached.
Pei Songjun, pale-faced, struggled to his feet and glared at her coldly, finally shedding the mask of his feigned smile.
“This maid is audacious beyond measure. May I be granted full authority to deal with her?”
“Of course.”
Nan Liujing raised her head, revealing a pair of blazing, crimson eyes—as murky yet sharp as that cup of Xuhou Wine.
She watched as Third Master Pei staggered over, reached out to grip her neck, and abruptly tightened his fingers.
“What is your name?”
He asked.
“Liu… Tao…”
“Liu Tao, remember this. The one who takes your life is called Pei Songjun.”
In the carriage, Nan Liujing jolted awake in an instant, drenched in cold sweat.
Author’s Note:
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